Rule 4730-1-06 | Licensure as a physician assistant.
(A) All applicants for a physician assistant license shall submit an application under oath in the manner prescribed by the board and provide such other facts and materials as the board requires.
(B) No application shall be considered filed, and shall not be reviewed, until the fee required by section 4730.10 of the Revised Code has been received by the board.
(C) An application shall be considered complete when all of the following requirements are met:
(1) The fee required pursuant to section 4730.10 of the Revised Code has been received by the board;
(2) Verification of the applicant's current certification has been received by the board directly from the "National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants";
(3) All information required by section 4730.10 of the Revised Code, including such other facts and materials as the board requires, has been received by the board; and
(4) The applicant has complied with the requirements of paragraph (A) of rule 4731-4-02 of the Administrative Code and the board has received the results of the criminal records checks.
(5) The board is not conducting an investigation, pursuant to section 4730.26 of the Revised Code, of evidence appearing to show that the applicant has violated section 4730.25 of the Revised Code or applicable rules adopted by the board.
(D) All application materials submitted to the board will be thoroughly investigated. The board will contact individuals, agencies, or organizations for information about applicants as the board deems necessary. As part of the application process, an applicant may be requested to appear before the board or a representative thereof to answer questions or provide additional information.
(E) Applications received from service members, veterans, or spouses of service members or veterans shall be identified and processed in accordance with rule 4731-36-03 of the Administrative Code.
(F) The following processes apply when an application is not complete within six months of the date the application is filed with the board:
(1) If an applicant fails to complete the application process within six months of initial application filing, the board may notify the applicant in writing of its intention to consider the application abandoned. If no response to that notice is received by the board within thirty days, the board shall consider the application as abandoned and no further processing shall be undertaken with respect to that application.
(2) If the application is not complete because the board is investigating, pursuant to section 4730.26 of the Revised Code, evidence appearing to show that the applicant has violated Chapter 4730. of the Revised Code or applicable rules adopted by the board, the board shall do both of the following:
(a) Notify the applicant that although otherwise complete, the application will not be processed pending completion of the investigation; and
(b) Upon completion of the investigation and the determination that the applicant is not in violation of statute or rule, process the application, including requiring updated information as it deems necessary.
(G) A physician assistant license must be renewed in the manner and according to the requirements of section 4730.14 of the Revised Code.
(H) To qualify for renewal of a physician assistant license, the holder shall comply with the following:
(1) Each applicant for renewal shall certify that the applicant has completed the requisite hours of CME since the start of the licensure registration period.
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (I)(4) of this rule, a physician assistant shall have completed one hundred hours of CME during the licensure registration period.
(3) Pursuant to the provisions of section 4745.04 of the Revised Code, the board shall permit a physician assistant to earn one hour of CME for each sixty minutes spent providing health care services in Ohio, as a volunteer, to indigent and unisured persons, up to a maximum of thirty-three hours per CME period. Physician assistants seeking to receive credit toward CME requirements shall maintain a log of their qualifying activities. The log shall indicate the dates the health care services were provided, the number of hours spent providing health care services on those dates, the location where the health care services were provided, and the signature of the medical director or the medical director's designee.
(4) Proration of hours required:
(a) If the physician assistant license is initially issued prior to the first day of the second year of a licensure period, the licensee shall be required to earn fifty total hours; if the license is issued on or after the first day of the second year of the licensure period and prior to the first day of the eighteenth month of that licensure period, the licensee shall be required to earn twenty-five total hours; if the license is issued on or after the first day of the eighteenth month of a licensure period, the licensee shall not be required to earn any hours of CME for that licensure period.
(b) Pursuant to the provisions of section 4745.04 of the Revised Code, the board shall permit a physician assistant to earn one hour of CME for each sixty minutes spent providing health care services in Ohio, as a volunteer, to indigent and uninsured persons, when it is documented as required by paragraph (I)(3) of this rule, up to the following maximums:
(i) For a physician assistant required to earn fifty total hours, a maximum of sixteen hours for that CME period.
(ii) For a physician assistant required to earn twenty-five total hours, a maximum of eight hours for that CME period.
(5) Only those hours earned from the date of licensure to the end of the licensure period shall be used towards the total hour requirement as contained in this rule.
(6) Completion of the CME requirement may be satisfied by courses acceptable for the individual to maintain NCCPA certification.
(I) To qualify for renewal of a physician assistant license with a valid prescriber number, the physician assistant shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Completion of the requirements in paragraph (H) of the rule;
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (I)(4) of this rule, completion of at least twelve hours of category I continuing education in pharmacology.
(3) If the physician assistant prescribes opioid analgesics or benzodiazepines, the applicant for renewal shall certify having been granted access to OARRS, unless one of the exemptions in section 4730.49 of the Revised Code is applicable.
(4) If the renewal of the license with a valid prescriber number is the first renewal after the holder has completed the five hundred hours of on site supervision required by section 4730.44 of the Revised Code, the requisite hours of pharmacology continuing education are as follows:
(a) If the five hundred hours were completed prior to the first day of the second year of the licensure period, the licensee shall be required to earn six total hours of pharmacology continuing education;
(b) If the five hundred hours were completed on or after the first day of the second year of the licensure period and prior to the eighteenth month of that licensure period, the licensee shall be required to earn three total hours;
(c) If the five hundred hours were completed on or after the first day of the eighteenth month of a licensure period, the licensee shall not be required to earn any hours of pharmacology continuing education for that licensure period.
Supplemental Information